Chasse Gardée

While we’re on the subject of la rentrée, it might be worth pointing out that it’s not just the government, schools and social clubs that are starting up again after the summer. The chasse is back in town (well, the countryside hopefully). In case you don’t know, the chasse is the hunt and it’s a…

C’est la rentrée!

It’s all over. And that’s official. Summer, that is. In France. At the beginning of September, the summer holidays are officially over. The schools go back, government ministers and civil servants return to their desks, even the social clubs start up again after their two-month hiatus. And there’s currently a heatwave. As I write, the…

Hello again

Most people with even a passing acquaintance with France will know the French word for ‘hello’: ‘bonjour’ (literally ‘good day’). However, maybe not so many will be aware of how crucial an element of social intercourse that simple word really is. Fail to preface any and every interlocution with a friendly ‘bonjour’ and you will…

One-Liner Wednesday: Headless

“Sorry I’m late, but I’ve got 13 chickens” Our Monday afternoon French class is quite a source of quotable quotes and this week provided yet another. A new (well, old, to be honest) lady breezed in about quarter of an hour after the start time, introducing herself with the above announcement. Follow that (I didn’t).…

Cutting Crew

In recent days we’ve been contacted by a number of expats – especially newer arrivals in our lovely commune – concerned by an apparent spate of intimidating threats to their property perpetrated by a very large man in a very yellow jacket, driving a very large tractor around, and in some cases almost into, their…

Faire-Le-Dodo (87): Did You Know?…

We didn’t see you at the recent annual Vin d’Amitie at the village hall. We can only assume that you didn’t know there was free drink involved (quite an agreeable rosé méthode champènoise, as it happens). You may not even know what the Vin d’Amitie is. For the uninitiated, it’s an evening ‘do’ early in…

Faire-Le-Dodo (87): What You May Have Missed

Greetings from The Management. As we indicated in the recent post announcing that we were stepping in to rejuvenate Mr Deadhead’s blog, our aim is to keep our readers much more informed about local news – even if we have to make it up ourselves – as it concerns the local expat community. As Deaders…